By Stacey Moncrieff, Editor in Chief

Do high gas prices have the power to change our housing patterns, causing people to flee exurban areas for homes in cities and inner-ring suburbs? And, if so, what does that mean for REALTORS® who work in those outlying areas? Those were the key questions in a fascinating teleconference, facilitated today by our senior editor Robert Freedman.

Although the planners, developers, analysts, and REALTORS® on our panel weren’t of a like mind on all points, they did agree on one thing: The trend toward “walkable urban” areas (as panelist Christopher Leinberger calls them) is real. High gas prices only serve to encourage a movement that was already underway as a result of demographic shifts. The trend doesn’t mean the death knell of suburbs, Leinberger and others said. Many suburban areas, such as Arlington County, Va., have successfully created “walkable urban” areas around transit lines. And now, rail lines (and adjacent development) are gaining steam even in car-dependent cities like Los Angeles and Phoenix.

In October, we’ll bring you highlights of the discussion. In the meantime, I’d like to know what you think, particularly if you live and/or work in an outer-ring suburb. Over the next five years, will we see continued softening in exurban areas — and, if so, what are you and the communities you’re working in doing to cope?

Posted on July 29 at 11:57 PM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (1)

By Mariwyn Evans

I’m in San Francisco this week to soak in all the information I can from Inman’s Real Estate Connect conference. Here’s a little taste of what you’re missing.

Video and Web Marketing. In packed sessions, I’m hearing great tips on how to use multimedia to expose the world to your listings. One of my favorite ideas: Do an unbranded version of home tours so other salespeople will post them on their sites.

Look into the future. I sat in on an impressive presentation by New York Times futurist Michael Rogers, who spoke about the future of interactive video—a very cool blend of TV and the information-packed Internet. You play the video, but can also click key points and drill down to get more info on something discussed briefly in the video. Maybe five years away, but amazing nonetheless.

No escaping foreclosures. There’s an unfortunate abundance of sessions and vendors (Including RealtyTrac, Foreclosure.com, Forclusres.com, and ForeclosurePoint) focusing on how to find and buy foreclosure properties. Plus, lots of talk about the trillions—yes, t—of subprime loans that are resetting in 2008 and concerns about resets of the Alt-A loans next year.

So long for now. I'm off to the next session!

Posted on July 25 at 10:13 AM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (1)

The most popular real estate stories this week from REALTOR® magazine’s Daily Real Estate News ranged from clients' biggest turnoffs to new lending rules.

The stories, in order of their popularity, are:

1. 6 Turnoffs That Make Clients Cringe

2. Top 10 Cities to Buy a Home

3. Fed Issues New Lending Rules

4. Going Overboard With Property Photos

5. U.S. Senate Passes Housing Stimulus Bill

To subscribe to the Daily or Weekly Real Estate News e-mail or RSS feed, visit REALTOR® Magazine Online.

Posted on July 18 at 08:51 AM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (0)

By Wendy Cole
Senior Editor

No one really disputes the importance of the Internet in the home search process anymore. The latest NAR research shows that 8 out of 10 buyers go online to hunt for property. A new Yahoo! survey similarly finds that 77 percent of respondents used an online source during their research for a home, while only 34 percent used newspapers or other print sources.

However, when it comes to advertising dollars, there's a gaping disconnect between consumer and industry behavior. The Yahoo! study reports that real estate advertising dollars are not even close to catching up to where the buyers are: on the Internet.

Though online ad spending has doubled since 2005, making up 32 percent of total spending, newspapers are still getting a higher share with 40 percent, according to the media research firm Borrell Associates.

These lopsided stats make me wonder what's holding you all back. Is it a lack of familiarity or comfort with online advertising oportunities? Or something else? And if you have adapted a smart and consistent online media strategy, please tell us about it and how well it's working.

Posted on July 11 at 11:33 AM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (4)

The most popular real estate stories this week from REALTOR® magazine’s Daily Real Estate News ranged from lists of promising real estate markets to shopping for REOs.

The stories, in order of their popularity, are:

1. 3 Areas of Housing Expected to Boom

2. 14 Markets With Nowhere to Go but Up

3. Top 10 Best Counties to Raise a Family

4. Six Most Promising Cities for Retirees

5. Bargain Hunters Have Field Day With REOs

To subscribe to the Daily or Weekly Real Estate News e-mail or RSS feed, visit REALTOR® Magazine Online.

Posted on July 11 at 08:45 AM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (0)

By Stacey Moncrieff

Joe Sullivan, information architect for our parent Web site, REALTOR.org, keeps the rest of us up-to-date on social networking trends. This story he sent from Business Week took me by surprise.

The article looks at a study by Rapleaf showing that women are using social networking more than men. Men, they postulate, use social networking for transactional purposes—i.e., to meet people—but tend to abandon social networks once they’re married. Women (single and married) use social networking to stay connected.

I suppose that means if you’re a real estate practitioner who targets the growing female homebuyer demographic, you need to get thee to FaceBook! Better yet, ferret out which social networks your prospective customers are using and meet them in their space. That’s the Web 2.0 way.

Posted on July 2 at 12:32 AM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (1)